El Husseini v Department of Housing of NSW

The case of El Husseini v Department of Housing of NSW involved Ms El Husseini, the appellant, and the Department of Housing of New South Wales, the respondent. The dispute revolved around the termination of a lease granted to Ms El Husseini. The appellant alleged that the termination was unlawful, and she sought to appeal the decision of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) that had dismissed her application. The appeal was heard by the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The central legal issues the court needed to address were whether Ms El Husseini's application for leave to appeal was out of time, and whether the termination of the lease was justified due to the use of the premises for illegal activities. The appellant argued that the NCAT had erred in law by dismissing her application for leave to appeal on the basis that it was out of time. Additionally, she contended that the NCAT had not properly considered the evidence regarding the circumstances surrounding the termination of the lease.

In its decision, the Supreme Court found that the appellant's application for leave to appeal was indeed out of time, as it had not been filed within the requisite period. The court held that the NCAT's determination on the timeliness of the application was correct, and thus, the appeal was not admissible on that ground. Regarding the termination of the lease, the court noted that the evidence supported the NCAT's finding that the premises had been used for illegal activities, which justified the termination of the lease. The court concluded that the NCAT's decision to uphold the termination was not in error.

In conclusion, the appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court. The court ruled that the application for leave to appeal was out of time and that the NCAT's decision to terminate the lease was lawful. The court did not address the appeal on the merits, as it was not admissible due to the untimeliness of the application.